Chettinad Spicy Paneer/ How To Make Simple Cottage Cheese Curry

Chettinad spicy paneer/Cottage Cheese Curry is a delicious, succulent curry full of whole spices roasted and ground to perfection. This Chettinad spicy paneer curry recipe is spicy and loaded with bursting flavors of freshly ground homemade masalas.

Ingredients used for Roasting and Grinding

• Red chillies
• Coriander seeds
• Pepper corns
• Cumin
• Fennel seeds
• Cloves
• Cardamom

Roasting this blend of spices to perfection is an important step. Then it is cooled, and blend, to a fine paste in a mixer grinder with little water along with ginger garlic paste. This masala paste is the base for both preparing veg and non-veg recipes too. Lets see an overview of how to prepare Chettinad spicy Paneer.

What is Paneer/Cottage Cheese

Paneer or Cottage cheese is a fresh cheese made from full-fat milk. Fruit or vegetable-derived acid, such as lemon, is used to curdle milk to make paneer/ cottage cheese. Drain the curdled milk through a sieve or muslin cloth and hung it. Then place a weight on top of the cloth-wrapped paneer to achieve a flat shape. Then cut paneer according to the desired shape and use it for the recipes.

How To Prepare Spicy Chettinad Paneer/ Cottage Cheese Curry

Add little oil in a pan or kadhai on low, medium heat. Now add dry chilies and roast for a few seconds. Then, transfer it to a plate. The red chilies should not change their red colour. Then add all the other whole spices and roast for a minute. Wait until the spice flavour burst and fills the room. Now it is done. Transfer the roasted spices onto a plate and let it cool. In the same pan, add two tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add finely chopped onions and saute until translucent. Now add chopped tomatoes and saute until it turns mushy. Grind the cooled spices with Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste and pulse for a minute until it turns to a coarse powder paste. Add little water and pulse again to get fine smooth paste.

Now add freshly ground masalas to the onion-tomato mixture and saute well. To the mixture, add the half cup of water and let it cook for two to three minutes. Now cut paneer/cottage cheese into the desired shape( I cut paneer into an inch long piece). Size is purely optional. Add the paneer pieces to the curry and gently stir. Cover and cook for five minutes or until oil floats above. Finally sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and serve with any flatbread or rice varieties.

Lets see step by step preparation of Spicy Chettinad Paneer/Cottage Cheese Curry

Get ready with all the ingredients.

Add a teaspoon of oil and roast red chilli first and keep it aside. In the same kadhai add other ingredients and roast until the flavours starts to burst and fill the air. Grind the roasted spices and Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste to a fine smooth paste by adding little water.

In the same kadhai add 2 tablespoon oil and saute chopped onions until translucent.

Now add the fresh ground masala paste and saute well.

Now add chopped tomatoes and saute until it turns mushy. Add salt and turmeric powder and half cup water and stir well. Cover and cook and let it start to boil.

Now add paneer/cottage cheese to the boiling masala mixture and gently stir on low medium heat.

Wait until the curry starts to thicken and oil starts to float above. Finally garnish chopped coriander leaves and is ready to serve.

Serve Chettinad Spicy Paneer along with roti, paratha, and any flatbread. It also pairs well with flavored rice and home made loaves of bread.

Variations

You can make mutton, egg, and chicken curry with the same masala in Non-veg varieties. For vegetarians, you can add potato, cauliflower, and elephant yam.

More Curry You Might Like To Try

Vegetable Paneer(Cottage Cheese) Curry

Bagara Baingan/Brinjal or Eggplant Gravy

Kashmiri Chicken(Murgh)Kashmiri Chicken Curry

Mangalorean Chicken Ghee Roast,Semi Gravy

Pepper Chicken Gravy

Chicken Semi Gravy/Curry

Easy Chicken Kurma/Easy Chicken Curry (One Pot)

Hope you like the recipe! If so, please try it out, leave your comments and rate the recipe, which means a lot to me . Thank you so much for stopping by the site!

Notes

You can use homemade paneer or store bought. Fresh home made paneer taste good.

Roast spice on low medium heat. Do not burn the spices as it change the colour and taste of the curry.